Received: from ATHENA-AS-WELL.MIT.EDU by po7.MIT.EDU (5.61/4.7) id AA02803; Thu, 5 May 94 07:15:39 EDT Received: from ftp.std.com by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA28017; Thu, 5 May 94 07:15:28 EDT Received: from world.std.com by ftp.std.com (8.6.8.1/Spike-8-1.0) id HAA02142; Thu, 5 May 1994 07:15:26 -0400 Received: by world.std.com (5.65c/Spike-2.0) id AA09006; Thu, 5 May 1994 07:15:23 -0400 Received: from hqrtmta1.doe.gov by world.std.com (5.65c/Spike-2.0) id AA09002; Thu, 5 May 1994 07:15:21 -0400 Received: by hqrtmta1.doe.gov (1.37.109.4/16.2) id AA16421; Thu, 5 May 94 07:13:16 -0400 From: HAROLD.FELD@hq.doe.gov Received: by hq.doe.gov via Worldtalk with X400 (2.3.0/1.45) id WT15486.51; Thu, 05 May 1994 07:13:15 EDT Date: 4 May 94 17:44:00 -0400 To: sca@mc.lcs.mit.edu, storytellers@world.std.com, hamizrachi@aol.com Subject: More on Storytelling.....(long) Message-Id: [Being a continuation of my thoughts on storytelling technique --Yaakov] THOSE TOUCHES WHICH MAY BE ADDED TO STORIES TO MAKE THEM MORE EXOTIC AND PERSONAL Aura of Befuddlement: Now that we have refreshed ourselves with some food and drink I beg you, brother Yaakov, to enlighten me further on the proper manner of storytelling. Yaakov Hamizrachi: I shall be glad to dear sister, for there is no grander art in all the world, nor one more worthy of practice. AB: I have heard some speak of telling a story 'in persona.' what does this mean? YH: Such storytellers share something in common with the actors of a commedia. They become, in effect, dramatis personae for their tales, telling them as one steeped in the drama that transpires. This is, it seems to me, the best way to tell a tale. If you can so entrance yourself to believe it, then the audience shall share that belief. Furthermore, we have here in the Laurel Kingdoms many and divers peoples. Almost, I should say, it is more cosmopolitan than Venice itself, where people come from the ends of the world to trade. Therefore, to tell a story 'in persona' does add much spice to it and lends itself well to the ear, which marvels at the novelty. AB: How is this done? YH: When telling the tale, one should include references to the times and places in which the tale takes place. Thus, when telling a tale from the lands of Al-Islam, you should refer to a judge as a 'Qadi', for that is their word for it. So too should the characters speak as characters of that place. A moslem might exclaim 'by the Beard of the Prophet' or some other exclamation common in those lands. AB: But will this not confuse the listeners, who have no knowledge of such customs? YH: Your question shows excellent wit. Therefore, when you use such devices, if they are not very well known, you should explain them. For example, let us suppose I wished to tell the tale of 'The Bull that Kept the Sabbath.' I should begin as follows. "Once there was a pious but poor Jew, who owned a small farm. He worked his farm diligently every day, except for the Sabbath, for it is the law amongst the people of the Jews that they may not work on the Sabbath.' AB: That is clever indeed. Not only does it entertain the audience, they also learn something of your customs. YH: That too, is an advantage, for a storyteller should seek to educate as well as entertain. Yet never forget that your first task is to entertain. If those sitting before wished to learn and be not amused, they could retain a pedagog instead of a storyteller. Still, if the opportunity arises to fulfill both tasks, sieze it with both hands. Not only is it a meritorious thing, but it will increase your fame. Your audience will remember your story, and therefore the teller, all the more if it teaches them some strange or unknown custom. They shall tell it over and remember your name thereby. 'Did you know that in the lands of Al-Islam,' they will say, 'A judge is called a Qadi? It is true, I heard it in a tale told by So and So.' AB: This is a good device then, for a storyteller must live or die by his reputation. Yet what if you are wrong? YH: Then you may reply, 'this is a tale from a foreign land that I have heard from another, if it is in error I am glad to be enlightened.' All will then perceive your modesty and wisdom. AB: Must one explain all things in a tale? YH: Nay, particularly not exclamations. When I tell a tale of a great sage who has passed on, I say 'the memory of the righteous is as a blessing.' This needs no explanation, for the audience will at once perceive why I said it. So too my patron, Baron Hossein Ali Qomi, says 'on whom be the peace and the blessing' when he speaks of one of the great ones of Al-Islam. AB: I am minded of an incident I saw at the Pennsic war, many years ago. A Norse woman was telling a tale from the lands of Al-Islam which she had heard from His Grace Duke Cariodoc. When she named some great Moslem she said 'on whom be the peace and the blessing.' Then she paused and said 'I don't know what that means, but His Grace said to say it after the name.' YH: And did this device win the favor of the audience? AB: It did. YH: Then you have seen some wisdom displayed in telling stories from places with which you are not familiar. For the woman was able to make a tale of al-Islam a tale of al-Islam, while remaining a Norsewoman. So too do I, if I tell a tale of the Christians, preface my tale with a declaration that it is a Christian tale and I do not believe their teachings, lest it bring about morris eyin (the appearance of evil) and someone think that I believe these Christian teachings. Also, she has demonstrated a great principle, that one should always give credit to one who gave you a story. For, as our sages of blessed memory have said: Ha-amer davar b'shem amro mayvi g'ula l'olam (who says says a thing in the name of the one who said it brings redemption to the world.) AB: Also, it increases the fame of the storyteller who told it to you. Is it wise to increase the fame of a rival? YH: Selfish is such a one who thinks so! First, it is a foolish notion. Is there room in the world for only one famous person at a time? Second, a storyteller so niggardly in his praise and so jelous of his own advancement will injure only himself in the end, for if he behaves thusly then other storytellers will return the favor and name him not. AB: To return to the matter of 'in persona' storytelling, what of those who deliberately remove all refernces to time and place from their story? Many begin tales 'Once upon a time and long ago...?' YH: Even then, the spice comes in the manner of telling, for a good 'in persona' storyteller will add his own touches to the matter, using his own words for things. This shall seem, in our cosmoplitan world, quite extraordinary to those around us. What is commonplace to the Greek is strange to the Rus or the English. AB: Yet some deliberately make their tales as plain as possible so that all will comprehend them. YH: Feh! Such folks may well cook nothing but boiled turnip, lest the flavor offend. Worse, (and forgive me sister if I offend your maiden sensibilities) it is like a lover who writes a sonnet, but omits any details of his beloved, or any suggestion of his longing for her. He may not offend her, but he shall hardly win her affections. IS THE AUDIENCE THE FREIND OR FOE OF THE STORYTELLER? AB: You speak of the audience as if it were a lover to be courted. YH: It is, and the storyteller must put forth all his strength to this desire. AB: And how should this courting be achieved? YH: Good sister, you are a woman. AB: So I have been told. YH: How would one woo you succesfully? AB: That should depend upon the time and circumstances of the lover and how he presses his suit. Is he fair of face and form? Is he known to me before times? Do I desire his company? Unless I know these things, I cannot say how he should press his suit succesfully. YH: And so with the audience as well. For every audience is as different as the women of the world, and each must be courted in its own manner. AB: Yet surely you may give some general advice. YH: I shall. First, you must gauge the mood of the audience. Do they wish to be approached, and if so, in what manner? Attending a bardic circle is like attending a ball, all who attend go for the purpose of seeing each other and to be courted. Your audience will be expectant and quite willing to be wooed. Yet even here there are differences. Some will be like a young maid in spring, eager and helpful in the wooing. Others as an experienced matron, familiar with the arts and judging you after the manner of her former suitors. Some will be in the mood for serious poetry, sighs, and other signs of affection, while still others will want laughter and gayity. Remeber that it is the storyteller who wooes the audience, and must suit himself to fit her mood. A lover who speaks lightly to a woman who wants sighs and romance will quickly earn her scorn, even if she were willing to be wooed at the start. If one did this often, one would quickly get a reputation as a boor, and be avoided at all costs. AB: Is the storyteller powerless then, to set the mood? YH: Nay, for with teases and soft words he may yet turn the audience from one mood to another. Think of the lover who comes first in the guise of gayity, to win his entrance and confidences into his loves affections. When he has disarmed her thus, he works his way into her thoughts and imaginings with words and images. Gradually, he leads her down the path he desires. So too should the storyteller do. He may begin a story lightly, if the audience seem in a bawdy mood. Then, when he has them entranced, he may slowly turn them to more serious things. Or, if the company be unduely sorrowful, he may win their affections with a jest that relives them of their burden. AB: It seems very complicated. YH: So it is, yet the world is peopled every day by lovers who so gauge the hearts of their beloved. AB: And what of those places outside the bardic circle? YH: Here the storyteller must put forth great art. For example, if a man desires to court a lady, but she does not know him, he must contrive some way to meet her. He may watch her path and set himself in the way to meet 'by accident.' Or he may leave her little notes that do intrigue her, and play upon her curiosity. AB: How does this translate to the storytellers art? YH: If a storyteller wishes to begin, he may introduce some segue into the conversation. For example, if someone be boasting of his prowess you may say: 'Peace good sir, your deeds are grander even then Alexander the Great and his quest for the waters of life!" Then, if they be intrigued, they will say: 'What is this tale?' AB: But what if such devices do not work? YH: Not all maidens may be wooed, and to persist when a maiden has made clear that she desires not your company is errant knavery and the work of a crude ruffian. So too the storyteller who persists when all have made clear they desire some other form of amusement. AB: Aye, I have seen it happen once or twice in the feast halls. YH: Indeed, were it within my power I should ban all such entertainments! Often the people wish to eat and converse with their freinds, and will scorn a tale they would have welcomed gladly after the food departs. Also, the halls made for dining frequently have poor acoustics, so that the storyteller must shout out his tale at the top of his lungs. Such occassions frustrate even an excellent storyteller, and may give one a reputation. AB: In truth, I shall avoid the temptation to make such displays. Now, good brother, tell me what should happen when someone in the audience responds to what you have said? For it has happened once or twice that some passing knave has called some cat-call and thus thrown me clear from my track. YH: There be two ways to respond. If it be some knave or ass who yells something in appropriate, ignore it. Recall that when the wise man argues with the fool no one can tell which is which. If the audience be enraptured in your tale, they shall despise the rogue for interupting their pleasures. The greatest praise you may receive is to see your audience chastise such a rogue. AB: Should one ignore all reactions then? YH: Heaven forfend, for if it be not some knave, but a natural reaction from the audience, then you have won a great victory, for it shows that you have so entranced them that they desire to participate. Think of it as a woman who, on hearing her lover's poetry, leans closer, or drops her hair, or makes some other sign that she is moved. Her lover will work with her, leaning forward himself, until they may together join in a kiss. So too, if the audience begins to participate, let them. If they laugh, keep silent until they have ceased. If you speak of galloping horses, and they begin to clap their hands in rythm, encourage them to do so. But subtly, lest you lose control. Now your audience is like a horse, urged to run. If the rider lose control, he shall be thrown. If he pull the reins, the horse shall rear and throw him. Rather he encourage the horse to perform to the utmost, but gently and with patience, reining the horse in from its wildest desires. So must the storyteller use the audience, but not lose control. AB: It seems to me then, that the audience is like the hand or voice. It complements the whole. YH: And so they should. Further, if the audience participate in some small fashion they will enjoy the story all the more, for people prize a thing more highly if they make it themselves. Think of the carpenter, who encourages his small child to 'help' him in his trade. If the child but drive in one or two nails he shall feel full of pride and tell his mother 'Daddy and I made a chair!' And the child will think of it as 'his' chair and prize it far more than a gift wholly made by his father. AB: Are there any more warnings or advice that you would give about the audience? YH: I would give one more warning to the storyteller. Too often does the lover become enraptured in his own poetry, and forget that the goal is to win the maid, not merely be in love. So too, some storytellers become too enraptured of their own craft and forget the object of their desire, the audience. AB: By what means may this be avoided? YH: Alas, the hour grows late. Come again tomorrow, and I shall discourse upon this matter.